Nate Quarry – Left 4 Dead Zombie Hordes and Tim Creduer
By Dave Carpinello
“The Rock” Nate Quarry recently talked with PDG about his upcoming fight with Tim Creduer, Left 4 Dead 2, the world of mixed martial arts and the journey of training.
PDG: Great to talk with you again; how did the training go leading to your fight this Wednesday, September 16th at UFC Fight Night?
Nate Quarry: Training and my camp was great, I had a lot of really good guys around me to help me prepare for this fight. I had Eddie Herman and Chris Leben helping me out for the last couple of weeks and I think that I did a great job with my preparation leading up to this fight.
PDG: What type of preparation did you put into your training as far as hours per day and sessions per week?
Nate Quarry: It really varied throughout the camp because regardless of what the workout was I was putting in 100%. Instead of looking at how many hours I put in at the gym, I prefer to look at the quality of the workout as opposed to the quantity. So some days I may have only put it in an hour of hard work and then other days it may have been three to four hours of work. When guys say that they workout eight hours a day, it is just a myth that sounds good.
PDG: Your last fight was an impressive first round TKO over Jason MacDonald at UFC 97; did you and your coaches come away from that fight with anything that needed improvement?
Nate Quarry: I know I have told you this before but I just look at every fight as part of the journey and I don’t look at any single fight as the end-point of my career. I look at each fight as an opportunity to improve my range and skills. It is the same game plan as always; I am working on my boxing, Muay Thai, wrestling and everything.
PDG: Since returning from your back surgery, the only loss you have in the UFC is to Demian Maia. Does it disappoint you at all that you have been relegated to under cards on the pay per views and free cards on Spike TV as opposed to being on the main card of a marquee event?
Nate Quarry: I was definitely disappointed that my last fight didn’t get shown on the pay-per-view portion of the event but that is just the business of it sometimes. All of the fights on the main card of that pay-per-view ran long and although every fighter wants to have their fight shown, sometimes it just doesn’t happen. You just have to accept it and I am happy to be fighting on Spike TV because that means that millions of people are going to be able to watch the fight for free and it will be a great chance for the fans to see us in action LIVE. We are the opening fight on the card so don’t miss it.
PDG: If you are able to stay injury free and are victorious on Wednesday, do you want to fight again this year or will you shut it down?
Nate Quarry: We will just have to see what they have to offer me and if I come out of this fight strong and healthy. Maybe I could have one more fight in the cage before year end.
PDG: What do you think of your opponent Tim Credeur?
Nate Quarry: I think he is on a good win streak right now since he has won his last three fights in the UFC and things have really been working good for him. So I am taking this fight as seriously as I take all my fights and I know that he is going to come in looking to finish me. It is going to be a great fight and I am prepared for anything.
PDG: Would you prefer that this fight stays on the ground or is primarily fought from standup?
Nate Quarry: My best game plan is just to get inside the cage and fight, I am always looking to have an exciting fight where I finish my opponent. When I fought MacDonald I knew that his plan was to take the fight to the ground and I accepted that imposed my game plan and ended the fight in the first round.
PDG: OK we need to talk about some video gaming. Have you had any down time after your training to play any games?
Nate Quarry: Oh yeah, I was actually able to play the UFC Undisputed 2009 game for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I got a chance to be a guest online and play some of the mixed martial arts fans that were online. It was a great time! The game I am looking forward to the most though is Left 4 Dead 2. The creators of the game did a photo shoot with me and I am going to be one of the Zombies that you fight in the game. I’m really excited to be involved in the project.
PDG: That’s awesome; how much involvement will your Zombie character have in the actual gameplay?
Nate Quarry: As far as I know I am going to be one of the Horde Zombies, so you can look forward to killing me every time you play the game.
PDG: What was your overall impression of UFC Undisputed 2009?
Nate Quarry: I thought it was good but nobody had given me a copy of the game before, so I got brutally beat down the whole time I was playing. Great graphics and there was a lot of good fighters in the game, hopefully I get a copy soon so I can catch up with the rest of the online gamers.
PDG: Being a professional fighter playing a professional fighter on a video game; how do you think they captured the realistic approach to the game?
Nate Quarry: Seeing a lot of the faces of fighters that I have fought before such as Rich Franklin and MacDonald was very cool. Coming from somebody who used to play Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, I think they were able to capture the essence of realistic gameplay and I was very impressed. I hadn’t played a fighting game for years and so I was very surprised at how realistic the moves and combinations in the game were.
PDG: Cool, lets get back to fighting; a lot has happened in mixed martial arts this summer. What do you think about Tito Ortiz making his return to the UFC?
Nate Quarry: I think that it is really exciting, he is a great former UFC Champion that always has exciting fights. He is easy to market and he still has a lot of fans out there. It is going to be great for everyone involved because he is going to be able to sell pay per views. He had the same back surgery that I did and I was able to introduce him to NuVasive and it is a real testament to them that they are able to perform the back surgeries that they do so that fighters can come back stronger than before.
PDG: What did you think about the way that Affliction canceled their event and subsequently went out of business?
Nate Quarry: I’m really not sure what to think because the fight between Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko was a fight that not only the fans were looking forward to seeing but myself as well. I have always been a fan of Josh Barnett and I think that he is underrated as a heavyweight fighter. He has been doing this for so long and is incredibly skilled, he has a lot a game.
PDG: Were you at all surprised that Fedor signed with Strikeforce as opposed to the UFC?
Nate Quarry: When it comes down to it for a lot of the guys out there, it is a business decision. It depends on what they offered him and how much freedom each organization was willing to give him.
PDG: I know that you were at the UFC 100 event and Fan Expo in July; what were your overall impressions of the event and do you think that it is something that would be beneficial for both fans and fighters to do again in the future?
Nate Quarry: Oh man, the whole weekend blew me away. I could never have imagined how big it was with over a hundred different vendor booths at the Expo. Every place I went to sign autographs was great. I didn’t get a break at all when I was standing at a booth. I signed autographs for two hours on Friday and six hours on Saturday and for that entire eight hours there was maybe two or three minutes that I wasn’t taking pictures, shaking hands or signing autographs. There were so many fans there that it blew my mind and made the whole experience so rewarding because it was such a great atmosphere and everybody was so respectful. I ended up watching the actual fights at The Beach at Mandalay Bay. Even the fans there were great and the event was very exciting.
PDG: Since you said that you are going to be fighting in the opening fight on Wednesday; if you get a chance, what fights on that card are you looking forward to seeing besides yours?
Nate Quarry: I have three buddies fighting on the same card as me, Jake Ellenberger, Chris Wilson and Ryan Jenson. Also, I can’t wait to see Roger Huerta fight because I love how he brings everything to a fight and he has a great style. I’m glad to see him back in the octagon and competing again.
PDG: Being in the Portland, Oregon area; what did you think of the recent visit there by the UFC?
Nate Quarry: Some of my friends lost and we had some fights go our way but that is the name of the game, you win some you lose some. We had a great after Weigh-In and UFC 102 party at a local bar here and many fighters showed up and I hope that they continue to host those parties. As far as the event went and how the local fans received it; I definitely think it was a success and I was at the autograph signing on Friday. For two hours straight the line was hundreds of people long, it just blew me away how many mixed martial arts fans there were in Portland. The fans were so excited about having the UFC here and being able to interact with the fighters at the autograph session. As I can definitely relate with the fans because 13 years ago I was watching the UFC on TV and now I am fighting for the organization.
PDG: Thanks Nate. Good luck on Wednesday; is there anything else that you wanted to add?
Nate Quarry: Thank you and yes, I definitely want to thank my sponsors for my upcoming fight. Nuvasive, AND 1 basketball shoes, Fight Mafia, Hayabusa, Full Combat and my management at www.KOreps.com and of course PunchDrunkGamer. I also have to point out MMAadx who have recently helped me with lots of support. Thanks to you and the fans and don’t miss this Wednesdays fight.
Post your comments directly below! You can also discuss the latest MMA and Video Game News in the PunchDrunkGamer Forums and don’t forget to Follow PDG on Twitter @PunchDrunkGamer and Like the PDG Official Facebook Page!
